Animal welfare groups are celebrating an announcement from the industry group United Egg Producers that it will support the first-ever federal legislation to improve conditions for all egg-laying hens in the country. The shift toward more humane egg production has been picking up pace over the last year, but on a state -by-state basis, and the proposed bill would be the first federal law to regulate the treatment of factory-farmed animals. It would also be the first farmed animal protection legislation of any kind in more than 30 years, according to Farm Sanctuary, one of the groups that worked with UEP on this issue. The legislation would, according to Farm Sanctuary : require the nationwide elimination of battery cages--tiny cages that nearly immobilize hundreds of millions of laying hens today; require environmental enrichments so that birds can engage in important natu...